Powerful Weekend Storm on Way to San Diego

A powerful winter storm will move into Southern California Thursday night, bringing the potential for heavy rain and high winds through the weekend.

The brunt of the storm system won’t arrive until Friday when moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to fall across San Diego County. Coastal areas could see with 1 to 3 inches of rain.

“Usually, our winter storms provide the bulk of rain in the mountains,” said NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh. “But, this time, even our coastline is expecting heavy rain & high winds.”

The National Weather Service forecast suggests rivers like the San Diego, Tijuana and Santa Margarita will "record significant flows." The San Diego and Santa Margarita rivers may reach flood stage early Saturday, the NWS warns.

The winter storm will come into contact with subtropical moisture from the south, creating a recipe for widespread, heavy rainfall, Kodesh said.

At times, rainfall rates of .5 to 1.5 inch of rain per hour are possible.

“When all is said and done, we could get 1 to 3 inches at the beaches,” Kodesh said. “Isolated areas in the mountains could be drenched by 2 to 5 inches.”

Wind gusts near 60 mph are possible Friday and Saturday, even at the coast. That could easily topple trees, or down power lines, Kodesh said.

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